"Everyone else marries women from the countryside, but Xiaolan is from the city. How can you compare them?!"
"But I didn't tell you to marry someone from the city!"
"Mom! Can't you speak properly! What's wrong with giving Xiaolan's family a thousand yuan dowry?! Her parents raised her with great difficulty, and you're a mother too, can't you be more understanding of her parents?!"
Yu Qiuying paused in her water-scooping motion, turned her head and stared at him for a long while, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips. "You know I'm the mother, so it was so hard for Zhong Xiaolan's parents to raise two daughters? And what about me? Was it easy for me, a widow, to raise all five of you?!"
"Get out of here!" She splashed a spoonful of cold water toward the kitchen doorway, her gaze toward Zhou Jiadong icy colder than ever before.
Zhou Jiadong was splashed with water, and he was instantly jolted awake, his mind, which had been clouded by anger, clearing up in an instant.
He stared blankly at Shangyu Qiuying's cold gaze, then hurriedly looked away. He lowered his head, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything. He just turned around in a panic and walked away with a limp.
Zhou Cailian watched Zhou Jiadong go inside before coming over, "Mom..."
She wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say.
"Let's start the fire and cook rice, I'm starving." Yu Qiuying breathed a sigh of relief, washed the pot clean, and poured in water.
Zhou Cailian responded, and the mother and daughter got busy with their own tasks without saying another word.
When Zhou Jiahong came home from school, he saw that Yu Qiuying and Zhou Cailian had already started eating, but the atmosphere was obviously a bit off. Then he saw that Zhou Jiadong hadn't come out to eat, and he immediately guessed that his mother and older brother must have been arguing again.
"Mom, eldest sister." Thinking of the changes in his mother these past few days, he straightened his back, called out softly to his mother and eldest sister, then quietly washed his hands, sat down to eat, and tried to minimize his presence.
Zhou Jiahong felt that his mother was becoming more and more authoritative. In the past, he dared to talk back to his mother, ignore what she said, and even dared to go against her. But now, he felt a little flustered when he saw his mother's expressionless face.
He could also see that his mother was now really determined to punish them, not only him and his eldest brother, but also his third sister.
It's Friday today. Just wait and see, my third sister should be back this afternoon. If she doesn't do any work like before, Mom definitely won't let her eat.
It must be said that although Zhou Jiahong is the most reckless among the sisters, she is also the most observant and pragmatic.
At first, when he sensed the change in Yu Qiuying's attitude towards them, he tested her for two days.
Now, he's completely obedient.
There was really no other way; if he didn't behave, he wouldn't get any food!
Mom is really heartless enough to starve him!
For the first two days, he didn't take his mother's words seriously. When his mother wouldn't give him food, he went to his friend's house for two meals. It was okay if his friend gave him one or two meals, but he wouldn't give him any more than that.
He's only a 15-year-old junior high school student; if his family really didn't feed him, he would starve to death!
So, he went to school obediently two days ago.
The three of them ate lunch in silence, while Zhou Jiadong lay stiffly on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling beam. His heart felt as if it had been plunged into a cold abyss, and the emotions that had been suppressed for so long were constantly intertwining and churning within him. One moment, he saw Zhong Xiaolan's eyes filled with pain and despair, and the next, he saw Yu Qiuying's cold eyes that were devoid of any warmth.
Why, why is it so hard to marry the girl you love?!
Why can't he even make decisions about his own marriage?!
Zhou Jiadong slammed his fist on the bed in pain, his eyes bloodshot.
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